Revision and Deadline Release

michaeltoddcohen — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:51:51 +0000

So… some significant (but necessary) time has passed between the last draft and the approaching one. Happy to say the editor has gotten back with some hard-hitting and very valuable insights. Much thinking to be done, and have done to a certain extent already. The danger about too much thinking though is that it can turn into a never-ending road where I’m continually “almost” ready to start on the next set of revisions. We don’t want that. That’s bad voodoo. So — another deadline is born. This time, I’m upping the ante.

I’ve given myself until Tuesday, November 30th to finish the next draft of “Walford”. At exactly 8PM (EST) on that date I will release a clip of me reading from the new manuscript on this site. A party at 9PM for beer-tastic celebration will follow.

What this means is that no one has to go anywhere to experience the reading (which will be brief — no more than 5 minutes), and it opens the experience up to countless individuals on the fantastic inter-web.

Wish me luck, and feel free to return here for updates, pledge your own project on the pledge page, or just watch the countdown clock on the right hand side of the blog.

Here goes!

Deadline Reading and Party

michaeltoddcohen — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:00:56 +0000

The Deadline Reading and Party went splendidly. Did I make the 80,000 word goal? I did not. I did however make it to 60,000 (double the size of the previous manuscript). It’s an accomplishment I can be proud of.

What’s next?

Tonight I send the manuscript to Editor Bill Henderson, and he takes it from there. He’ll give me several pages of notes, and I’ll take those and make a go at another draft.

THEN what happens?

We have another Deadline Reading and PARTY!

Stay tuned for details!

Project: DEADLINE

michaeltoddcohen — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:24:59 +0000

I wrote a book. You may or may not have known that. The book is a bit short at approx. 30,000 words. I need to expand that number to 80,000 to be taken seriously as a first novel, and part of the hitch in being taken seriously is to be serious about something yourself. So, the way I see it I have two options:

1. Write sporadically at the whim of creative fancy.

2. Get serious, and commit to 50,000 more words by writing 1,000 words per day for fifty days.

I choose option 2, and to prove just how serious I am, I’ve organized a deadline reading and party.

In addition, I’ll be adding one paragraph a day to the story section of this blog for the fifty days to serve as a mark of my progress.

Also, I know there have to be other people out there who are a little phobic to finish their symphony, poetry compilation, book, or play.

If you’d like to commit with me to finishing a draft by the deadline reading and party, you can come and read your work too, just add your name to the pledge section.

Let’s realize that the work won’t be perfect, maybe it won’t be brilliant (maybe it will), but the draft will be finished and the accomplishment is worth acknowledgment and a beer.

Cheers!